Good news. Someone actually heard my prayers so we only had a bloodless coup during the celebrations. I am surprised at all the constraint the Prince must have had during this considering all the accusations he has made against the colonial council. Shame that nobody but the Prince's inner circle has all the details behind this coup. All I can do is tell the events from my perspective.
The army finally returned 10 days ago. As it is basically a tradition no matter where you go, a military triumph was performed. All factories were closed so that the pollution didn't disturb anyone. It was basically a holiday across the entire colony. The streets were filled with people since everyone wanted to see the heroes that finally got rid of the 30-year old nightmare. As the army marched through, I don't think most people noticed or cared that the banners that they carried were those of House Erigen, not the official flag of the colony. In retrospect that was the first indication of the events that were yet to come.
As the army reached the main square of the lower city, Prince asked the army to stop. He got off his panther, and here I thought that the panther was made up for propanganda and stories, stood in front of everyone and, with the help of his new commander who had a big set of lungs on him, ordered everyone to be quiet. It took a minute for everyone to pipe down after which he started his speech. He started by praising everyone who contributed to the war effort. From farmers and workers to merchants and bureaucrats.
Then he started complaining about the colonial council about how they built an opulent palace for themselves, about how their meddling didn't allow the army to be as powerful as it should have been and therefore causing the major casualties in the siege of Melgr, about how their negligence caused thousands of dead in Sur Carys and Frynghid and about how they stole the wealth gained from all the expeditions that the army took for themselves. The mood quickly turned from a celebration into an anger as the mob mentality took over everyone. Thankfully, or should I say as expected, Prince had calmed them down before anyone took this too far. It was clear to anyone who was still thinking straight what was about to happen.
As Prince was telling people that not everything was stolen, he went into one of the carts and showed the treasure in it by tossing coins and trinkets from it. Before the crowd started going berserk trying to tear each other apart for the treasure, he calmed them down again by saying that everyone would get their due. By this time the captain of the City Guard had finally appeared on the scene. I was too far to hear what was he saying, but judging from Prince's reaction he was trying to understand what was going on. He pointed out to him crimes that he informed the public a bit earlier as well the one he was just about to reveal.
Apparently the night before they entered the city they destroyed a bandit's hideout. What they have found there was shocking. They found clear evidence of members of the council being involved and using the City Guard to cover this up. Judging from the captain's reaction, he was clearly shocked about these news. Prince then continued stating that he admired the captain's loyalty but reminded him that he was meant to be the officer of the law. With him clearly under Prince's thumb, Prince then continued towards the palace.
Sadly, only him and his escort was allowed into the building so we had to wait outside to hear the news. While we waited the crowd cheered the Prince's name. Thankfully Cass was present during this meeting so she told me, Ferlin and Linne what happened next.
The first thing the councillors demanded when Prince's entourage entered the room was to explain these accusations. Prince repeated what he said earlier. This angered the leader of the Noble Faction Ignatius Nakir who stated that the ramblings of the bandits meant nothing and demanded that his farce be ended that moment. Prince shut him down and then explained himself. Nakir then tried to pull the political immunity for himself and others.
Prince, clearly planning on that move of his, pointed out the current treaty in which he pointed out that as the Lord Governor of Metzaca, since the council had proven itself to be unreliable, should he leave his position the council loses the immunity and the new elections will be mandatory the next day. Nakir was angry at this insulting both the dead king and people of Metzaca. Rather than stoop to his level, Prince ordered the captain to open the door where the room could hear our chanting from outside. With the clear indication that the elections would end in his victory, the councillors finally admitted defeat when he officially disbanded the council and ordered the captain to arrest those involved in the crimes.
In the end 4 out of 9 councillors were arrested for their crimes. From there on it was a smooth sailing. The announcement was made, people cheered and then drank themselves until the morning. The next day the elections ended in the clear victory for Prince as he was reinstated to his old position as Lord Governor. Now I must say one thing. It's clear from the treaty that this favoured Metzaca over other cities since the elections were only made here. I understand that there was no chance for anyone else to get the position since there are not enough people to overturn Metzaca. But in the future this might cause some problems unless addressed.
As days passed, many were expecting some major changes in the government like the official declaration of new kingdom. Considering all that he went through, nobody would blame him for this. But, as much as King Arius I Erigen sounds nice, he didn't do that. He merely reformed the government so that instead of councillors we have ministers with their own departments. It looks like he prefers the old system rather than making radical changes just because he could do it.
There was one surprising change though and it concerns the nobility. With merit-based government that he wants to do there is no longer a place for traditional noble houses, but rather than outright abolish it he decided to change it to the Imperial model. From now on the importance of the nobility will be carried in the family name, not in their bloodline. The lord or the lady can freely adopt anyone into the family regardless of their origins and a new heir is decided by vote from every family member. Initially nobles wanted to protest against this policy. However Cass and the Prince wanted to lead by example so the Prince adopted the new Minister of the Occult Mr Storm and the new Civilian Governor Arcadion into his family. Since he is the last of the royal line, no one could oppose him on this decision. Besides, from what I can hear, all 3 are lifelong friends so it wasn't hard to convince them.
As for Cass, she officially adopted us into her family. We kept our family name and just added the Korvin. Currently it feels weird being called Tilly Korvin, but I think I can get used to it. Besides we were already considering her a part of our family. Now it will be official and it will be easier to handle stuff in the case of an emergency. After this came out the nobles no longer protested about this. They realized what potential this policy had since now House Erigen has more influence in politics and House Korvin is stronger in trade. I think there will be a lot more adoptions in the months to come.
After all of this there was peace. We had used it to plan out our future. Ferlin took an opportunity to go study in Dolsmere so we spent time planning out his and Cass' trip. It was a shame that they were both leaving, but it wasn't like they were leaving forever. I am sure they will have some interesting stories to share once they return. Meanwhile I am starting to help out a lot with guild. It's mostly delivering and picking up stuff, but it's fine. In fact I even managed to convince Cass to allow me to ride the gryphon against my sister's wishes. I will be taking some flak from her for several weeks, but I promised her that I will take all the precautions and fly as safely as possible. Now we shall see how useful this purchase will be for us.